Final Fantasy VII: Resurrecting the Past
by Sahana K
Summary: 200 years after Sephiroth's defeat a new story is about to begin and old enemies are about to be awakened.
1. Prologue

Well it's been awhile since the last time I wrote on any of my fanfics. Guess I finally found some time to actually start writing again. I was thinking of writing this fanfics for quite awhile, but I was worried someone else might have already written something similar with all the FFVII fanfics there are in the world. But I guess I finally got bored enough not to care, sorry. Disclaimer: I really don't own anything to do with Final Fantasy 7 so don't waste your time suing me, ok?  
  
Final Fantasy VII: Resurrecting the Past Prologue  
  
After the effects of Meteor landing in Midgar the last of the Shinra were said to have disbanded and gone their own separate ways. Most gave up on the Shinra inc. all together, but some still chose to terrorize people on the streets. The towns had grown tremendously over time and the members of avalanche Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Nanaki, Barret, Cait Sith, Vincent, and Yuffie had been hailed as hero's for stopping meteor and defeating Sephiroth, and also a memorial had been built in honor of Aeris and the other Cetra or Ancients. The memorial was built just outside of Midgar filled with flowers that always bloomed, it was said that Aeris had once loved flowers as well. They had wanted to build the memorial inside Midgar right where Aeris's church had once been, but after meteor had landed a curse had come over Midgar. Monsters still lurked around there and there was said to be a rumor of a shadow that looked just like Sephiroth walking around that place. People had gone into Midgar and had never returned and so the place, once known as Midgar the infamous capital of the Shinra, was abandoned. No one ever set foot into the cursed capital and the greenery was allowed to grow freely.  
  
During this time the eight heroes' that had survived Sephiroth each went their own way. Cid Highwind had gone back to rocket town needing to repair his ship named after him the Highwind. It had gained quite a bit of damage in escaping Sephiroth's cavern. He improved the Highwind and later on married Shera. Red XIII a.k.a Nanaki became the new leader of Cosmo Canyon. He researched in the library finding out as much as he could on the planet and the many things related to it. He now rules Cosmo Canyon with his great wisdom of the planet and his strength gained in the fight against Sephiroth.  
  
Yuffie Kisaragi also came to rule Watai after her father passed away. She used her new influence and turned Watai into a flourishing town no longer dictated by Shinra. Although she accepted the ruling of Watai, Yuffie ran away two years after returning to become a freelance ninja. She never returned to Watai, but instead traveled the world. Some say that she couldn't handle the leadership, while others say that she abandoned her country and people after feeling that they would be fine without her. Whatever the reason, Yuffie disappeared after reaching the cold arctic lands that lead to Sephiroth's lair. No reports of her were ever found again.  
  
Reeve's Head of the Shinra's urban development left all ties of Shinra and began to work as a journalist. He traveled some of the world staying in one place for a while before moving on. He made the most complete and detailed book that followed the travels of Avalanche and their leader Cloud. Reeve later betrayed Avalanche rejoining a small group of Shinra. During one of the attacks on the Shinra it was reported that Reeve was killed.  
  
Vincent Valentine disappeared completely without a trace after the fight with Sephiroth, though some reports state that he returned to the cave behind the waterfall to be with his one true love Lucrecia even after she had died. Not much else was given on Vincent.  
  
The Turk's had disbanded quietly after the death of their leader Tseng. Elena the only female Turk at the time moved to Gongaga to live out her life a bit more peacefully helping to rebuild the town along with Rude who had followed her there. The two married later having a child they named Terra. Reno started traveling and became an assassin for hire unable to give up his bloody past even after the Turk's had been defeated. He fought against the Shinra joining a small group of active Avalanche members consisting of Cid, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa. The five worked together for three years targeting the small up rise of Shinra. After that no records of Reno exist.  
  
Tifa Lockheart became the owner of the bar Seventh Heaven, recreated in Kalm, after the extra three years of fighting. Not much else happened to Tifa afterwards. Her adventurous life ended with the final defeat of a small Shinra squad lead by her former friend Reeve.  
  
Barret Wallace returned to North Corel with Marlene and Elmyra, Aeris' stepmother. He worked hard to rebuild the town to its former glory, but was over come by heavy Shinra attacks directed towards the town. Marlene and many of the other town's folk were killed in the attacks. Feeling lost and angry Barret joined Cloud, Tifa, Reno, and Cid in attacks against Shinra hoping to get his revenge. It was later reported that Barret committed suicide after his new wife Elmyra died from Cancer.  
  
Cloud Strife was last seen to be traveling towards the City of the Ancients after his three years of battling the Shinra he left everything behind and vanished into the Sleeping forest never to be heard from again.  
  
Now two hundred years have past since Sephiroth's defeat Nanaki still ruled Cosmo Canyon, the Shinra still put up a resistance front and a new adventure is about to begin to reawaken the past that has remained asleep for centuries...  
  
---- Well that's the end of the prologue. The chapters will probably be longer. (I think) I'll try to update soon. (That's another I think, given the fact that I tend to totally forget my other fanfic's exist. ~sigh) 


	2. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FFVII, but the original characters are mine! I created them; I can destroy them if I want. Hahaha!  
  
Ok anyways first chapter is already up! Please read and review.  
  
Final Fantasy VII: Resurrecting the Past Chapter 1: Mission  
  
" Hey, Sierra what is that supposed to mean," asked the black haired boy as he checked the silver gun in his hand. Aiming at the wall in front of him and then putting the gun back down to check the ammo all in an efficient manner born from experience. From behind her Sierra heard the soft laughter of Toren as he watched the exchange unbothered by Sierra's angry glare that was now directed right at him. " I'm just saying that it might be dangerous for us to go alone to Midgar. You know as well as I do that they say that place is cursed and with good reason too," said Sierra, " and anyways why do we have to be the ones to go there." " It was a dare from Joker's group, they don't just hand out missions like that usually. I'd say we should just take it and go. Midgar hasn't been explored since Sephiroth's defeat and if we are the first to go in there and make it back out we'll be famous, maybe get rich and then they'll hear about us as far out as Watai," said the black haired boy. " That's just my point what if we don't make it back out, Raven," yelled Sierra after his retreating back.  
  
" Are you afraid, Sierra? We leave tonight at midnight, if you do not show up then we will guess that you chickened out and decided to stay," he called back over his shoulder. " You know I would never run away from a battle," whispered Sierra her long blonde hair flying into her face when a sudden breeze picked up across the meadow that wound down and then back up in a steep hill to stop at the horizon line. Sierra wore a long blue cape that flew out behind her and a black suit. At her side were two swords that peeked out from the cape every now and then. Sierra herself didn't look much like a warrior at the young age of sixteen.  
  
Many people underestimated her both for her age and the fact that she was a girl, but even before she had come to the town of Kalm her eyes had always burned with the fire of a warrior. Her eyes were the unique color of cerulean that seemed to almost glow at times. It was said that she had once been connected to Shinra, but no one knew much about her. She had just appeared one day walking into the town and making herself known to the locale gangs saying that she was looking for work. She had been twelve then and had only been carrying with her the two swords that she still kept today. She didn't give away much about her past not worrying that much about it herself.  
  
Sierra turned away in disgust facing Toren. Toren was a member of the gang she had joined those four years ago. He was a great fighter using a pair of blade tipped whips as weapons and fighting with a ferociousness that she had never seen in anyone else. Toren himself was a bit dangerous at times lapsing into states where he couldn't remember friend from foe sometimes, which made him even more dangerous. Toren was handsome as many of the Kalm residents girls put it, but Sierra had never really allowed herself to get into much of a relationship with others.  
  
" You should have known that you couldn't stop him from going. Though I will agree with you that this may be a mission we won't come back from," he said calmly smirking at her. " And you," she asked easily turning her back to him to watch the sun set in the distance. " You and I are the same in some ways. I will never run away from a battle. You should know that once a warrior makes up their mind on going to fight they cannot back down. I will see you tonight," he said and with that he vanished into the shadows he had come from. " I guess. I better prepare," said Sierra narrowing her eyes and smirking.  
  
It was much later then Sierra had hoped. She had gotten prepared and now she snuck through the dark alleyways following the shadows and using the familiarity of the path she was following to guide her through the dark. The new curfew that had been raised by Shinra made traveling harder at night, but Sierra had been trained as a ninja a long time ago.  
  
She made it to the secret hideout that housed the gang knocking twice before opening the door to find a gun aimed at her head. " Oh, is there something I should know about," asked Sierra hiding the sudden terror that had threatened to make her attack with a joke. Raven lowered the weapon placing it back in its holster. " Didn't think you'd make it with all the talking you did this morning. Come on get in here," he ordered easily closing the door behind her. Sierra hadn't expected an apology from him and found it easy to move towards the back of the hideout to meet the rest of the group.  
  
Carla, the talkative and resourceful young girl sat reclining in a chair in the far corner. She waved a hand at Sierra's arrival. Toren from earlier stood with his arms folded in front of his chest leaning with his eyes still closed against the wall unresponsive to anything. Sharon, stood on his opposite raising her face to see Sierra walk in. " What happened to Hartz and Cyril," asked Sierra looking in on the sadly small group. " They chickened out," said a softly spoken reply from Toren. He still had his eyes closed and didn't move an inch. " Grand, so when do we leave," asked Sierra knowing that, that wouldn't stop them from going. " Well, we have five minutes until midnight. I'd say we check our equipment and leave," said Carla from where she sat already taking out her throwing knives and examining their edges.  
  
Sierra nodded her agreement taking out the two short swords from her sides. They looked like twin fires in the candle light that lit the room. The silver gleamed back at Sierra, as she looked down at the swords a madman smile escaping her as she swung them expertly in the air listening to the soft whistling sound that stirred the air. Toren finally stirred from the wall taking out his twin whips. The blades at the end of the leather curved wickedly. Sharon from the corner aimed her pistol at the opposite wall. Raven didn't bother check his equipment, choosing instead to move towards the door and watch out for any Shinra soldiers marching through the streets.  
  
" You know what would be cool," asked Toren replacing his whips. " No, what would be cool," asked Sharon slipping the small hand pistol up her sleeve. " If we could find some materia in the Shinra capital," he said his eyes suddenly taking on a gleam. " Of course, ever since Meteor was destroyed there has been a shortage in materia. The materia that does exist is beginning to become ineffective, except the summon materia other than that, materia doesn't exist only a select few can use it today. Strange really, but it seems as though when lifestream stopped Meteor it also used so much power that it could no longer create materia, but it is rumored that there is materia in Midgar because lifestream is always directing most of it's energy there."  
  
" Hey!" Four heads shot up as Raven walked into the room. " We gotta go now, the Shinra are suspicious and are heading towards here. We'll take the back exit and make our way towards Midgar, follow the forest line that's growing towards the ocean, but don't get lost in the forest, or the ocean for that matter," said Raven smirking at Carla who was already looking confused at the directions. " I'll take care of it," said Sierra pushing Carla ahead of her and running towards the exit the others already made it out leaving Sierra, Raven and Toren to bring up the rear.  
  
" Hey, you there," yelled a Shinra soldier who had been pacing idly. Sierra grinned as she pulled the swords from her sides. They gleamed in the darkness from the light of the moon that loomed above her. "Keep going," she yelled back at the others who had paused in their travels. Raven nodded knowingly as he ran pulling the others along with him. Sierra concentrated on the small group of Shinra soldiers in front of her. She jumped forward without warning swinging her swords in an arc above her head to come down with the flat of her blade to only knock out and not kill any of them. Five of them went down in two swings some of them not believing that a little girl would attack them. Sierra smirked at the remaining few laughing darkly as she ran.  
  
She followed the tree line that bordered the side of the town. The trees loomed above her as she ran blocking out the little light that the moon offered. There were times when monsters were spotted in the forest, but Sierra didn't have time to worry about it as she ran. She dodged around tree roots and branches that appeared out of nowhere to reach for her. She let herself run without any worry. There was no reason for her to look back. She could already see the silhouette of Raven followed closely by Toren. The others must have been ahead of them. Sierra stayed a small distance behind them, not wanting to startle them into believing that she was an enemy.  
  
Midgar was quite a distance away when walking and there was only one stop between it and Kalm, the memorial to the Cetra. Sierra never slowed down, but she could tell that she was getting tired, from the way that she would start stumbling. She was glad that none of the others could see her as she tripped on a tree root that had only just come to her knowledge. She cursed softly, but stood back up to run.  
  
It felt like hours before the others ahead of her slowed down their pace and walked. Sierra still felt it necessary to walk just a few extra feet behind them. Her training as a ninja kicked in even when it wasn't really needed making her stick to the shadows and move with a stealth that not even her exhaustion could hinder. She walked up to the group only when they stopped completely.  
  
" So did you take most of them out," asked Toren while studying the forest. " Of course. They didn't think a little girl could do them in, I felt that I needed to teach them a lesson," said Sierra. " We should be able to walk the rest of the way and make it to the memorial just before first light hits the sky. Let's keep moving," said Raven already moving out.  
  
The walk was almost worse than the run. Now Sierra had time to stare at the forest and notice the movement that could be seen out of the corner of her eye. Carla at one point shrieked in terror stuttering in embarrassment that she had seen something in the forest coming at her. That hadn't really surprised Sierra because of the fact that she herself had thought something was coming at her a number of times as she looked into the forest. Thankfully the walk had been uneventful. Before long they reached the memorial.  
  
The memorial itself had long since been abandoned due to monsters, superstitions, and other strange reasons. It was a dead place, only brightened by the many different flowers that graced the ground and the water that still ran in the pond just out front. Small fish could be seen swimming around the pond. Already in the eastern sky the sun could be seen rising above the horizon. It was still a bit dark, but for the most part it was much brighter that it had been that night. Sierra walked through the memorial being careful not to step on any of the flowers that had grown wild since it had been abandoned.  
  
It was so silent now. In all its glory this place still held a serenity and peace that could never be dispelled. The group of five decided to take a break after the nights travels, but that didn't last long as they were all anxious to get to Midgar. Toren was the first to stand up stretching idly before saying, " I don't know about you people, but I think it's about time we got out of here." He walked out not waiting to hear their replies. Sierra also stood up and walked out along with Raven who waited in the doorway for the other two.  
  
" So are you ready to see Midgar," asked Toren once she had made it away from the doorway. " Of course," said Sierra before moving ahead of him to stop just at the top of a cliff that opened up to face Midgar. The city had long since been mostly overgrown by moss and other greenery, but you could still see the metal tower that jutted out above the city itself. It was a darkness that loomed just above the city shadowing it forever in darkness. The ruins of a once proud city that was now said to be cursed not only with a great number of monsters, but also by the shadow of Sephiroth. " I wonder what we'll find here," said Sierra to no one.  
  
They walked around the memorial to get to Midgar. It wasn't a long trip, just a short walk. When they reached Midgar they found that it was bigger than it looked from afar. " So Raven do you have the map that Joker gave you," asked Sharon. Raven nodded as he pulled out the map. Sierra looked over his shoulder, " That looks like an underground cavern of sorts." " Yeah it's said that after Midgar was built they needed more space and a secret area to keep supplies and other such things. They built an underground network right under the city. It stretches out underneath five sectors. There were only three exits created for this place. One of them should be near the entrance, but it might not open any more. Hopefully we're lucky today, if not we'll just have to find the other two entrances," said Raven putting down the map and walking to the front to lead the group.  
  
Walking around the structure the group managed to slip in through a very small hole that had been made inside the wall during meteor's attack and found themselves in the ruins of one of eight sectors. It was a terrible mess. Metal twisted with metal, and all the while the ground was littered with grass and moss that grew over everything. The upper plate that had once been on top of the sector now lay to the side on top of another pillar smashed into pieces. " No wonder they think this place is cursed," said Toren staring up into the wreckage, " what sector are we in." " We are in between sectors six and seven, but the underground entrance should be somewhere near the entrance," said Raven moving slowly to avoid tripping on the moss and other debris that was underneath the moss. " Ya know, I have a stupid question, but how are we going to find the underground entrance when all we have to go on is that it is there. I mean if it is there how will we know," said Sharon from the back of the group. " I heard from rumors of the underground entrance that it is a door built into the floor that will lead you down, but with all the moss and stuff we may never find it," said Carla.  
  
"We'll just have to dig our way to the doorway, but I think I may have an idea as to where it is," he said suddenly running. The others raced after him stopping just in front of an open door sticking out of the ground. " The monsters must have gotten here before us," said Raven looking down into the darkness, " They may have made a nest down here. This may be where they all are coming from." " So what are we waiting for lets go," said Toren before jumping in. Sierra smiled up at Raven and winked before jumping down. It wasn't that long of a fall, and the landing was soft thanks to the moss that grew just at the entrance. The light that reached the underground area surprised Sierra, but her surprise disappeared when she saw the hole in the ceiling.  
  
" Whoa," said a startled Carla who had just landed behind Sierra. " What is this," breathed Sharon walking a few feet ahead. " Have you forgotten all your history lessons already Sharon," asked Toren turning to face everyone, " This is the ruin of sector seven after the plate was dropped." The ceiling had caved in from the impact of the plate and now metal that looked like it had once made up a train fell down from the ceiling covered in moss and looming darkly. The ceiling itself must have been made of metal, so the impact of the plate dropping must have been incredible.  
  
" Seeing this, do you think the ceiling will stay up in this place," asked Sierra. " That's about two feet of metal used to keep the ceiling up. I think it should be fine," said Toren walking on ahead. " Another question," said Carla waving her arms to get the attention of the others. " What is it," asked Raven irritably. " Well since this place seemed to withstand most of the attack of Meteor, why didn't the people of Midgar hide here," she asked. " This place was created at the beginning of Midgar's history. Its existence was totally forgotten by the time Meteor came. Only a few people in the world knew of its existence," said Raven. " Who," said Sierra and Carla at the same time? " Most of the scientists knew about it, but they refused to tell others of its location even when the threat of Meteor loomed," he replied.  
  
" SO how did you get the map to it," asked Toren looking over his shoulder. " Joker said that his grandfather was once part of the science department," said Raven nonchalantly. " What exactly are we looking for," asked Sierra. " Materia," Raven replied, " supposedly there was a stash of it in the science department in the underground area. This map isn't really that accurate so we'll just have to do some exploring of our own to find it," said Raven. " What if all the materia has lost the ability of magic in it." " We'll bring back the remains of the materia as proof," he replied. " Well, what are we waiting for people," asked Toren already moving on ahead. " I hate science labs," said Carla before moving out.  
  
They walked around the sector seven ruins and instead followed the wall to a doorway that still had a few lights left from before Meteor. " How strange, I was sure that these lights ran on the power sucked in by the reactor, but it seems that even after the reactors were destroyed these lights still worked," commented Sharon as they walked through an empty hallway. Sierra wasn't listening as she drew one of her swords. The others looked up in alarm stopping in their tracks. Ahead of them a scratching noise could be heard. " A monsters den," Sierra heard herself say. " Come on we have to keep moving," whispered Raven. They avoided the scratching noise choosing instead to walk down another hallway that branched off into a corridor filled with doors.  
  
" Search every room and make sure to leave nothing unturned," said Raven carefully opening the first door to the first room Carla standing beside him. Sierra moved on to the second door pushing it open easily her sword still in hand. The room was empty save for the bunk beds that littered the walls. " This place looks empty," said Sierra after walking through it. The room was well made up, the lights were dim, but other than that it was empty giving no sign of anyone ever living there.  
  
Moving on, Sierra pushed down two more doors finding pretty much the same. A small square room with supplies in it and other things that looked like it had never been used. Every now and then Sierra looked out beyond the hallway hearing the scratching noise and wondered exactly where it was coming from. Earlier it had sounded like it was coming from behind them, but now it seemed to be in front of them. " It's moving. It knows that we are here," whispered Toren at one point while all the others were checking out a different room. " Do you think it is guarding something," asked Sierra just as quietly. " What gives you that thought," asked Toren staring into the dim light that was the only means of seeing in the hallways. " It moves so that it blocks us from going any further than it allows. A lot like it's guarding something, but I can't tell yet what it is," said Sierra. " Well, that's never stopped us before. Although I agree that we need to get past it at some point," said Toren before moving back to help the others.  
  
"We need to move on to a different hallway," said Raven taking the lead and walking forward. The scratching noise became more audible with each step. Sierra pulled out her other sword, and beside her Carla pulled out some knives. Sharon and Raven already had their guns pointed. " I believe that we have a host waiting to show us around," said Sierra. " Are you sure he doesn't want to show us to the door," asked Toren his whips snapped on the cement floor as he pulled them out. The creature suddenly jumped out of the shadows facing the group.  
  
It looked a lot like a simple wolf. It was three feet tall, with sharp teeth that were reminiscent to that of a saber tooth. Its claws looked too big for its feet stretching out and curved as sharp points. " Whoa, what the heck is that," asked Sharon. " What I'd like to know is what is that behind it," said Sierra. Just behind the wolf was a dark room that had no lights except a soft green glow coming from three cylinders. There was no telling what was in the test cylinders from where they stood, but they looked big enough to accommodate a body. One of the cylinders must have been shattered because the soft green glow looked like as if it was coming from the floor around a dark corner of the room.  
  
The wolf like creature suddenly lunged forward. Sierra had just enough time to register the fact that it moved out of the corner of her eye and dodged to the side rolling on the floor before pushing herself back up in a crouch. " That thing is fast," commented Sharon from where she stood to the side her gun aimed at the darkness. " Whatever you do don't hit those cylinders," cried Sierra pushing herself to her feet and swinging her swords around her as the wolf creature reappeared behind her. Toren's whip snapped at the creature catching it in the jaw. Sierra jumped back just as it lunged at her face. She jumped up on top of a table that sat conveniently at the end of the hall.  
  
Raven aimed his gun firing at the creature and caught it in the side a few times. It didn't even seem to faze the wolf creature as it swung around to attack Toren. The wolf slammed into Toren pushing him down to the ground. " Hey, a little bit of help would be appreciated if it's not too much trouble," yelled Toren as he tried to push the creature off of him as it aimed to sink its fangs into his neck. Sierra jumped off the table using her momentum to slam into the wolf and knock it over. Her swords smashed into the floor, leaving Sierra with no weapon. That wouldn't stop her though. Sierra smiled at the wolf just before pulling the fire materia out of her pocket. Fire Three, she commanded. The wolf burst into flames that died out soon after igniting, leaving no trace of the wolf like creature behind.  
  
Silence followed the fight as the group picked up the pieces left over from the fight. Sierra moved to retrieve her swords and replaced them back in her sheaths. " Since when have you had materia," asked Raven. " It was a gift from my father just before he passed away. I never really use it that often, but in this case I felt that it was necessary," she replied putting the materia back in her pocket. " Thanks, Sierra," said Toren from the corner. He wasn't hurt that badly so they decided to keep moving.  
  
"So what are these things," asked Sharon as she moved towards one of them. A face loomed out from the green glow as they moved closer causing Carla to jump back and trip on the floor. " S-someone is in t-there," she managed to choke out. As the group moved even closer they could make out a body in the cylinder floating in the green liquid. The body could be none other than Rufus Shinra still clad in his white trench coat. If the person didn't confirm this, the gold plate labeled Rufus Shinra in fancy letters sure did.  
  
Sierra hadn't realized that her teeth were chattering until she noticed Toren's pointed look directed at her. " What about the other two.no three. Is there anything in them," asked Sierra her voice a whisper, as she feared that Rufus might wake up if she was too loud. The group moved to examine the other three. " There's nothing in this one, but it's labeled Zack. It seems like the person who was in here vanished on them," said Raven moving on to the next. " This one. is weird. It's almost like as if someone scratched the entire inside out. I can't even read the name tag anymore," said Carla shivering from where she stood. " Guy's you gotta see this," called Toren from the corner of the room where the shattered cylinder was.  
  
It was a lot like the others, but the entire cylinder was shattered leaving only the gold metal plate whole as it lay among the shattered glass fragments. There was a shocked gasp that moved through the group. Written in the same fancy writing as with the other gold plates was the word -Sephiroth- in bold letters. " Maybe the rumors of Sephiroth haunting this place were more true than we thought," said Sierra, " so now what."  
  
----------End of Chapter one. Now you probably hate me for leaving you at a cliffhanger, but hopefully I will get the next chapter out soon. Until than please read and review! Tell me what you think so far. 


	3. Revival

Disclaimer: I still don't own FFVII or anything else related to it. I'm trying to update as quickly as I can, but you wouldn't believe how long it takes me to proof read this thing! I'll try and update as quickly as possible and happy reading! Also thanks goes out to those people that have read my story. I appreciate all the reviews!  
  
  
  
Final Fantasy VII: Resurrecting the Past Chapter 2: Revival  
  
Sierra stared down at the gold metal plate still not believing the name scrawled on it. She looked on to the remains of the cylinder. If this truly did once hold the body of the long dead general of Shinra than they were in more trouble than they thought. " What should we do about this dude," asked Toren pointing to the cylinder holding Rufus Shinra. " Nothing, that's what," replied Raven sternly. " But we can't just leave him like this, can we," asked Carla.  
  
A dark silence followed the statement. " We still need to find some materia. For now lets go ahead through that door. I think it will lead to the science labs. We can check and see if there is any materia," said Raven leading the way to a door hidden in the dim green glow. Raven pushed it open and walked in the others close behind. As soon as they entered a light turned on and the sound of an engine starting filled the air. " Grand," said Sharon from behind Sierra. " It could be worse," said Sierra commenting on the mess of the room that had once been the science lab. The science lab was a twisted wreckage of upturned chairs and tables, Sierra didn't want to think of all the things that seemed to be spilled on the floor, but she could already see the materia that glowed on the ground. Kneeling to pick up one of the materia orbs she showed it to Raven and the others. " We found our treasure," she said studying the orb. It was a green lightning materia. " That's not all," said Toren who had walked out a few more paces than them. He walked back holding a box filled to the top with many different types of materia.  
  
" But why would they have left them down here," wondered Carla picking up one of the red summon materia on the top of the pile. It glowed in her hand giving the impression of fire. " You know, I was just thinking, why was this place abandoned and forgotten in the first place. Do you think there may be more to this place then we know," asked Carla looking up a serious expression on her face. " I don't know and I don't really care. We got what we came here for, so let's just get out of here," said Raven turning away to walk out.  
  
" Yo! Raven how are we going to get this box out of here," asked Toren. " Carry it," called Raven over his shoulder as he walked out. Sierra shrugged before walking back out. " We haven't gotten all of the materia in this room. Some of it is still on the floor," said Carla reaching down to pick up another materia orb among the shattered glass of test tubes and measuring cups. " Leave it. In the future there may be others like us wandering into here and taking the materia. It wouldn't be worth it to take all the materia now anyways," said Toren before walking out carrying the box.  
  
" Yeah, I guess your right," said Carla softly before dropping the materia back down onto the ground. She moved out along with the others and began walking. They only made it as far as the edge of the room they had found the cylinders in before the sound of growls and scratching stopped them. It sounded like it was coming from many different areas at once.  
  
" There is more then one," whispered Sierra drawing her swords and looking around cautiously. Toren put down the materia in the middle of the group. " I guess they want us to stay. Although I appreciate the hospitality I would say we move for the exit as soon as we see an opening, " he said picking up a few materia, " let's see how these work." He held up one of the green materia concentrating on it. The nearest wolf like creatures that had been hidden before burst into flames.  
  
" Damn show off," said Sierra before using her own fire materia to burn the other creatures that surrounded them. " There are too many of them," said Carla before trying her hand at the summon materia in her hand. " Ifrit," she called just as the fire demon appeared. It hung suspended in the air before going into an attack that left six more of the creatures dead.  
  
The snarls and scratching noises grew worse even as more of the creatures were killed off. " How many of them are out there," whispered Sierra as she backed away along with the rest of the group. A sudden crashing noise behind them caused them all to turn and face the cylinders. Another one had shattered. Sierra couldn't hide the shock on her face as Rufus Shinra stood up from the ground. One of the wolf like creatures had managed to slam into the glass cylinder and shatter it. " Oh, Holy Meteor," whispered Carla.  
  
The ground suddenly shook violently underneath the groups' feet. Cracks appeared in the cement floor and the walls crumbled. " Run," yelled Raven over the commotion, " Get out of here." Sierra didn't need to be told twice as she high tailed it out of there, the others right behind her. Toren ran right in front of her, but stopped so suddenly that Sierra almost slammed into him. " The materia," he cried before running back. The walls were already collapsing further back. All signs of Rufus Shinra once being there had disappeared. " Keep going," yelled Raven nodding as Toren passed.  
  
The group ran through the collapsing underground passageway following the path they had taken when first entering. "You have got to be kidding me," said Carla as they reached the already completely collapsed hallway. " Raven, map might come in handy right about now," said Sierra looking up and down the hallways. The wolf like creatures from before had all mostly fled when the ground began to shake. " What about Toren we can't just leave him," yelled Sharon. " He has a backup plan that was created just for these cases, he will be fine," said Raven while digging out the map.  
  
" If we take the hallway that was first guarded by those wolves, we should be able to reach an exit that ran to the south of Midgar, but there is a chance that it has already been sealed off. It was very near the Shinra building," said Raven trying to read the map even as the ground shook under his feet. "Is it the only way out of here," asked Sharon already headed in the direction of the hallway. Raven nodded an affirmative. Following the hallway was a difficult task as the lights that had once lit the hallway were flickering or completely destroyed. They navigated it more by touch as they stumbled along sometimes running into walls they didn't know were there.  
  
It was a long walk/run that ran the length of the hallway and beyond as they found a room that opened up from the hallway. The ladder that lead up was still there, but the floor was still shaking and the door that lead to the outside was still closed, so they didn't know if they could get out. " So, who gets to be the lucky one to climb the ladder first," asked Sierra over her shoulder. " I'll go up," said Raven racing out in front of her and jumping onto the ladder as soon as he reached it. It held his weight as he climbed up banging on the door.  
  
" The handle to the door is rusted in place," he said slamming into the door with his shoulder. Sierra pushed her way up the ladder standing next to Raven on the thin ladder and pulled out her sword, slamming it into the wood door. It went through. Sierra grinned at Raven as she used the sword as more of a saw and sliced through the door. She made an opening big enough for her to fit through and climbed up pulling herself out of the underground passageway.  
  
Towards the west the sun was just about to set, but Sierra could still see her surroundings. They were just outside of the tower that had once accommodated the Shinra. The tower loomed darkly above the entrance to the underground. Shaking her head to snap herself out of her thoughts Sierra pulled open the door from above and pulled up Raven. Behind him the others were already climbing the ladder to reach the door. Carla slipped on the ladder; rocks falling into her face made her eyes tear and her vision impaired.  
  
They all made it out fine, but getting out of Midgar was a different story. It was getting dark and as close as they were to the Shinra building it would take them a while to find the exit. " Should we wait for Toren," asked Sierra turning to face Raven who was idly pulling rocks and dust out of his hair. Carla was busy taking some water from her water bottle and Kleenex to clean out her eyes. " Ow, this hurts," she whined from where she stood. Sharon sat on the ground rubbing the sleeve of her shirt over her face to get the dirt off. Sierra guessed that she also looked pretty bad. Every now and then when she shook her head dust fell down into her face.  
  
" We leave without him. If he does not show up at the memorial by late afternoon tomorrow than we will guess that he did not make it or he already went ahead of us back to Kalm," said Raven shaking his head to get more rocks and dust out of his hair. " So for now we should concentrate on getting out of here before it gets dark and the monsters wake up, eh," asked Sharon standing up from where she had sat.  
  
Sierra looked out across the western plains, which looked like the easiest trek. It was a long walk that consisted of them having to climb most of the way going through one of the many sectors that had taken the least amount of damage. The group was silent even as the sun finally fell below the horizon and the walk became more difficult. Not much light made it into the sector because the plate was still there, but they kept walking moving along through the empty, silent sector.  
  
" We need to figure out where we are in Midgar so that when we get out of here we can find the memorial again," said Raven finally breaking the silence that had been an ever-lasting mourning among the group. " It won't really matter will it? We can just circle around Midgar to find the memorial," said Carla her exhaustion showing in her voice and the way she seemed to drag her feet to keep moving. " I don't want to be out and about in the middle of the night trying to figure out where the memorial is. I want the quickest way there and I sure as hell don't feel like taking the long way around," said Raven shaking his head for emphasize causing more dust to fall into his face as he walked.  
  
They walked through the sector finding as they exited, the doorway showed the number five. or what was left of the doorway that had once closed off the sector now presumed to be sector five. The group followed the edge of Midgar towards the memorial making it back easily enough with no strange occurrences. Sierra made good use of her knowledge of materia and started a fire in the small camp area they had used when they first came here. The group put together their supplies and came up with a small meal of bread and sausages that had been in their small carry packs.  
  
" We weren't expecting to be out here for two days were we," asked Sierra as she stared at the orange flames eating the spare wood they had in the memorial. " It was supposed to only take half a day to get through the underground area," replied Raven from where he sat leaning against the wall. There was a short silence where in everyone looked towards the door. " So that's why you urged us to get moving after we found the materia," said Carla breaking the uncomfortable silence. " We needed to get out of there as soon as possible. A strong warrior could have sensed the dangerous air in that place," said Raven. Carla winced at the remark knowing full well that he meant that she was still a long way from being anything close to a warrior.  
  
" At least I don't run away leaving my comrades behind," she hissed back before standing up and moving outside the building. Sierra and Sharon watched the exchange in silence not bothering to give their input. Sierra never cared much for bickering because she thought it was a childish thing to do. True she was worried about Toren's safety, but it was a warrior's code to die in battle. Toren could die, but Sierra would never allow herself to care too much about it. That was the reason for why she never had any relationships. She was used to death. It was a part of life in the world she lived in. When she had been young she had started her training as a ninja and had witnessed people sacrificing themselves. She had seen how easy it was for life to be taken away. It had been a long time since the last time she had cried for someone else's death. It was every person for themselves in this sad time, with the Shinra still trying to take over and monsters still infesting the world.  
  
Sierra stood up and walked to the side of the room looking over the flowers that bloomed even in the darkness. She took one pulling it out of the ground. It was a simple white wild flower, but Sierra appreciated it for its simplicity. She walked out of the room with it, back towards the cliff facing Midgar and set it down near the edge walking back. Carla was outside watching her. " Is that your tribute to him if he doesn't return," asked Carla her voice dark and clipped. Sierra looked up facing Carla. The girl had long red hair that looked an auburn color in the darkness and bright emerald green eyes that sparkled with tears right than. " Don't cry for him," said Sierra walking on towards the entrance of the memorial. " Why not," asked Carla. Sierra turned back around, " he isn't dead yet." " What," asked Carla confused. " Call it a warriors instinct, but I know that he isn't dead yet," said Sierra, " the flower is to show him that we were here and have left." Carla stared after Sierra's retreating back. " How."  
  
Meanwhile-  
  
Toren cursed softly choking on dust as the walls still fell around him. It seemed that even after the initial shaking had stopped it would still start again every now and then. One of the plates above the underground tunnel had seemingly fallen causing the new shift of weight to bury them. Toren had discarded the cardboard box filled with materia long ago. It was too much to carry it through the dark caved in tunnels that had stretched off from the science lab. Toren had seen the tunnels when he had went to get the materia. They had looked more sturdy then the hallways so he had told Raven to run ahead of him.  
  
It was true they were sturdier, but Toren still had trouble walking through them as the ceiling kept falling in places. He had put as much of the materia as he could in his pockets and the small pack he carried, but some of it he had left in the box. Another part of the ceiling fell down right on top of him. He fell to the ground his left arm going completely numb. " Damn it I can't see a thing," he managed to choke out. His voice was hoarse from all the dust, but he pushed himself back up into a sitting position and searched in his pockets.  
  
He found the fire materia and aimed a small bit of its energy in front of him. A rock caught on fire, but even as it did the fire was already going out. He needed some wood or something flammable. Barely even thinking he reached into his pack and pulled out the flowers he had gathered at the memorial. ~Sorry, Mom I guess I better stop at the memorial later and pick you up some different flowers, ~ he thought silently to himself. The flowers would only last so and so long.  
  
Toren took the time to study his surroundings finding only the ever- enclosing walls crumbling even as the shaking stopped. His arm had lost all feeling and he worried that he might have dislocated it when he fell on top of it. The tunnels had gotten pretty quiet, but the light was disappearing fast as the flowers burned to ash one at a time. ~ Ha, Some backup plan, ~ he thought chuckling softly even though it hurt his throat.  
  
Toren trusted his instinct on which direction to go and began walking again. Gripping his useless arm he walked forward following the light that still came from the burning flowers. He followed the twisting tunnel. After a while the light from the flowers no long reached and he was forced to walk blind again. In all his stupidity he had used all of the flowers in that one area just to get some light for a moment.  
  
He thought he saw a light in the distance, but for all he knew it could have been a hallucination. He sighed in defeat when suddenly he realized that the light he saw in the distance was actually there. It wasn't a hallucination. He couldn't remember what first stirred him to run. He just realized one minute that he was running and the next he tripped just before reaching the light.  
  
He tried pushing himself up from the ground, but he was exhausted. He knew that he had been walking for hours. Someone was there, he knew they were there standing just to the side watching him. Toren managed to lift his head enough to see the strangers face. Eyes the color of green he had never seen before that almost seemed to glow in the darkness and hair that shimmered a pale silver in the small light given off by a lamp that sat on a large rock to the side.  
  
" This can't be." Toren heard himself saying just before everything went dark.  
  
  
  
------I'm really sorry, I just have the worst habit of leaving people at cliffhangers, but hey at least I got the chapter up pretty fast. I didn't think this story would turn out so original. I was hoping to have more of the Final Fantasy VII characters out by now, but their taking their lovely little time getting into the story. I'll update as soon as I figure out what to write in the next chapter! Got any suggestion just leave them in the review for me, ok? 


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